A Coffee Shortage Is Coming
Coffee fanatics, brace yourselves. Brazil and Central America — two of the world's largest coffee-growing regions — are wracked with draught and disease, soon to shrink the global supply of coffee beans. The price of wholesale beans is soaring in response, thanks to the immeasurable demand for coffee: Their cost has already risen more than 60% since January. The good news is that this upsurge in price will take time to hit coffee shops and supermarkets, and the effects may be subdued, as large-scale coffee roasters often purchase beans well in advance.

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Minnesota Bans the Anti-Bacterial Chemical in Soaps, Deodorants, and More
Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has just signed a bill to make Minnesota the first state to forbid the use of triclosan, the prevailing anti-bacterial chemical used in soaps, washes, toothpaste, and deodorant. Health and environmental concerns about triclosan have been escalating for quite some time. Though it hasn't been proven to be life-threatening to humans, research has suggested that the chemical may impact our reproductive and developmental hormones. The ban doesn't take effect until 2017, but it's likely that the ingredient will already by phased out by a number of companies by that time.

This Just In: People Living Longer Worldwide
"The world has witnessed major gains in life expectancy in recent decades. A baby girl born in 2012 can expect to live an average of 72.7 years, and a baby boy to 68.1 years. This is 6 years longer than the average global life expectancy for a child born in 1990," says the just-released 2014 World Health Statistics Report from the World Health Organization. But life expectancy varied greatly by location: Girls in high-income countries average 18.9 more years of life than girls in low-income countries, and 15 more years for boys.

The World's First Braille Phone
OwnFone, a British tech company that makes personalized cellular devices, has released what it says to be the first Braille phone. The customizable front and back of the phone is made with a 3D printer: "The phone can be personalized with two or four Braille buttons which are pre-programmed to call friends, family, carers, or the emergency services," Tom Sunderland, the inventor of the device, told the BBC. "This is the first phone to have a 3D printed keypad and for people that can't read Braille, we can print texture and raised text on the phone. Our 3D phone printing process is patent pending."

Gucci Steps into the Cosmetics World
What's buzzing in the world of high-end cosmetics? The announcement of Gucci's first makeup line, to be released in September 2014. The face of the line will be none other than the granddaughter of Grace Kelly, Charlotte Casiraghi.